Vegetarian

Butternut Squash & Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate with Poppy Seed Honey-Lime Dressing - a great choice for Thanksgiving or any other winter holiday menu! This is a perfect Autumn or Winter salad , since it uses lots of seasonal ingredients that are available this time of the year. Healthy, gluten free, packed with […]
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Butternut Squash, Kale, Pecan, Cranberry, Apple Salad with Maple-Lime Dressing - this healthy, gluten free salad combines lots of Autumn flavors and is a great side dish / appetizer during the Fall/Winter season! Maple-Lime dressing is perfect for kale: it softens and balances its flavor. I really enjoyed this salad, and so did my husband […]
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Maple Butternut Squash, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin Seeds, and Cranberries - perfect Autumn salad, bursting with colors and flavors! I love this recipe so much - to me it looks so much like Autumn on a plate. Last year, I made a very similar recipe but with pecans, this year my tastes have changed a […]
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Radish Avocado Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber, Green Onions + easy homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette with Garlic. Healthy, Mediterranean Style Recipe, full of fiber and nutrients. This is a great recipe to use radish. Radish is so good for you, and this healthy, edible root vegetable should not be ignored! It should be on your grocery shopping […]
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The Best (and easy) Mashed Sweet Potatoes, with butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and Montreal steak seasoning - a perfect combination of sweet and savory flavors! You'll love these potatoes! In this recipe, it is important that you melt the butter together with maple syrup and Montreal steak seasoning for 2-3 minutes to soften the Montreal […]
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Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette - healthy, delicious, easy-to-make salad! Perfect for the Thanksgiving menu, this is one looking holiday salad. With lots of good for you ingredients, this recipe is packed with fiber, and it's gluten free! While this salad is especially great for the holidays, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, it has […]
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries - this easy Thanksgiving side dish is not only delicious and bursting with Fall and Holiday flavors (cinnamon, maple syrup), it's also healthy, gluten free, vegetarian, and packed with fiber! I love the combination of ingredients here! Even if you don't like Brussels sprouts, you'll love […]
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Delicious Thai Zucchini Noodles with a homemade, spicy Thai sauce, topped with toasted sesame seeds. Asian comfort food! I loved these spicy Thai noodles - so much flavor in this simple recipe! If you're looking for an unusual way to use up your zucchinis - this is the perfect recipe! You'll start by cooking 2 […]
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Disclaimer: I received compensation from BHG (Better Homes and Gardens) to make this recipe and promote it. All opinions are my own. Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Mozzarella - healthy, light, vegetarian side dish! Perfect for Summer cookouts, picnics! Gluten free friendly recipe (if you use gluten free brown rice pasta)! I made this […]
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Penne Pasta, Bell Peppers, and Asparagus in a Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce, with basil and crushed red pepper. This Italian-style pasta dinner is easy to make, full of flavor and just pure comfort food. It's so easy to make - perfect for busy week nights! What I personally love about this dish is that it's […]
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Best cooked spinach, with garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and topped with lemon zest (peel)! Tasty, quick, healthy, and beautiful side dish! Goes great with pasta, grilled meats, steak, and chicken. It's very easy to make, inexpensive, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free! If you have too much spinach, or want a steakhouse quality side […]
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Caesar Salad with Cannellini Beans and Avocado - healthy, vegetarian salad. Creamy, rich Cannellini Beans are a great, gluten-free alternative to bread croutons! I love white beans in salads - and they are a great addition to the Romaine lettuce salad with classic Caesar dressing. So good! Everybody raved about this recipe, even the kids! […]
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Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip - made in just 30 minutes, from scratch, very easy and delicious! Can't beat homemade dip! And, it's gluten free! I love homemade spinach dip! It doesn't have that greasiness that some store-bought spinach dips have, and I know exactly which ingredients went into it. The result is the super tasty […]
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This Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad with Pecans, Avocados (and Marzetti® Simply Dressed® Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing) is so good, you might as well double the recipe when you're making it! The recipe is filled with so much flavor, that I'm having a hard time finding the right words to describe it but I will try. :) Let's […]
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Breakfast Egg Muffins with Mushrooms and Spinach - these crustless mini quiches are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or potluck! Packed with protein, fiber, and veggies. Vegetarian, gluten free recipe. These little muffins are so easy to make, and it's one of those fast (and nice-looking) breakfast recipes that you can whip up in the matter […]
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Delicious Pumpkin Quinoa Chili with Black Beans and Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - a yummy vegetarian version of a regular chili - this recipe will keep you full and satisfied! I love making SAVORY recipes using pumpkin puree, without any sweetness or spices that are usually associated with pumpkin - and I love how tasty this […]
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I love spaghetti squash. It's so easy to deal with it - just cook it in the oven, and then, if you don't want to pretend that spaghetti squash is just like pasta, I have links to 4 good recipes with spaghetti squash right at the end of this post. Roasting spaghetti squash could not […]
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Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole - a delicious, super easy to make casserole dinner recipe! The vegetables are roasted in spices (cumin and chili powder) before we add them to the dish, which adds lots of Southwestern flavor! Other ingredients include green and red bell peppers, corn, salsa, enchilada sauce, sour cream, Mozzarella […]
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Garlic Mushroom Fettuccine Pasta smothered in butter and shredded Parmesan. Sometimes, the simplest of recipes are truly the best! This recipe takes only 30 minutes to make, but the resulting dish tastes like something you would order in a high-end Italian restaurant. While this pasta is great as-is, it will be great with grilled salmon […]
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This Butternut Squash and Spinach Three Cheese Lasagna recipe is healthy, vegetarian, perfect for the Fall and Winter season, and popular with kids! The lasagna combines Ricotta, Parmesan, and Mozzarella cheeses with spinach and pureed butternut squash to create the ultimate Fall & Winter comfort food. This recipe uses butternut squash puree, which you can […]
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Healthy Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, Pine Nuts, Caramelized Onions and Feta cheese, with French Vinaigrette salad dressing (I used Brianna's French Vinaigrette salad dressing - it's excellent! and it's gluten free!). This delicious salad is perfect for the Fall, and it's a great way to use butternut squash a little bit differently than […]
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Spaghetti Squash, Quinoa and Parmesan Fritters - delicious, healthy snack that everybody in your family will love! Quinoa tastes AMAZING in this recipe! If you like quinoa you will like it even more after making these savory mini cakes. To make these spaghetti squash cakes, you will need to precook the spaghetti squash in the […]
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Roasted Eggplant with Spinach, Quinoa, and Feta. Honestly, it's one of the best recipes I've made so far using eggplant, and the combination of all these simple ingredients is amazing! I love eggplant, it's one of my favorite vegetables: This dish has a very strong Mediterranean vibe, as I am using eggplant, quinoa, and Feta […]
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After I published the recipe for Parmesan Zucchini and Garlic Pasta, one of the readers left a comment that she added walnuts to the zucchini pasta, and it turned out really good. The idea of zucchini cooked in olive oil, topped with melted, freshly grated, Parmesan cheese AND then sprinkled with some kind of toasted […]
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Zucchini has been on my mind lately, mainly because a huge zucchini has been sitting in my fridge for quite some time begging to be used and not wasted. The zucchini was really huge, similar in size to this jumbo zucchini (scroll down and you'll see the zucchini on her head :) ). I wanted […]
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I've discovered oyster mushrooms several years ago and have been regularly cooking with them since then. Their flavor and texture are amazing. They are versatile and filling: I could eat 2 servings of this recipe for dinner and not go hungry. Sauteed oyster mushrooms are also a great side dish for grilled steak, or they […]
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Delicious and easy-to-make dinner: Asian-flavored pasta with broccoli and oyster mushrooms. Perfect for the weeknights! I love using oyster mushrooms in cooking, and they taste exceptionally wonderful in Asian dishes. Oyster mushrooms are easily available in Asian stores and in some regular grocery stores, too. The sauce is very basic but deliciously flavorful: tamari sauce […]
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Delicious, creamy, and very easy-to-make mushroom risotto. I don't like spending much time at the stove after a long day at work, and I already made this dish several times this week after work on weeknights - that's how easy this risotto is! The recipe is perfect for weeknight cooking, and the dish tastes like […]
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I love mushrooms, and mushrooms often are at their best when prepared in the most basic way like this simple mushroom and garlic saute. This recipe is also great for paleo and gluten free life style, with just a few simple and natural ingredients producing very flavorful and filling meal! The recipe uses 12 oz […]
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Greek tortellini salad with tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, feta cheese - in homemade Greek salad dressing. It's a delicious and healthy salad that uses fresh ingredients, lots of vegetables, and the dressing is made completely from scratch! While this salad is great served right after it's made, it also gets better if you let it marinate […]
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This crunchy Asian salad with peanut dressing is amazingly tasty, colorful and refreshing, with a lot of crunch and flavor! Lots of vegetables: spinach, cucumbers, red bell pepper, carrots, sugar snap peas - all tossed in a delicious, homemade peanut dressing, and topped with toasted peanuts and sesame seeds. The salad dressing is both sweet […]
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Healthy quinoa with vegetables: spinach, mushrooms, green onions, red bell pepper, and fresh peach (which adds a nice touch of freshness and sweetness!). This recipe is actually a variation of a quinoa dish I made (and really liked) several days ago. This recipe works well as a side dish or as an easy quinoa salad. […]
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Here is another delicious Summer salad: Quinoa salad with spinach, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, mandarin oranges in a homemade Balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The dressing is made from scratch, using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, mustard powder, onion and garlic powders. It's not a heavy dressing: it's very light and perfect for this kind of salad […]
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This is one of the best quinoa dishes I have ever made. I've never combined eggplant, quinoa, and Asian flavors before, and, it turns out, this combination is so delicious, very flavorful, with all ingredients working really well together. It is basically a stir-fried eggplant, cooked with other veggies, quinoa, with an amazing sauce. The […]
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Spinach and mushroom quinoa sauteed in garlic and olive oil. I've made this delicious dish over this past weekend and it was so good, I can't wait to share this simple recipe. Not only is it super tasty, this quinoa dish is healthy, low in carbs and calories, high in fiber, it's gluten free, vegetarian, […]
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Introducing my new favorite summer salad: Strawberry Spinach Salad, with Blueberries, Mango, Avocado, and Cashew nuts, with a Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing. This salad has become a new favorite in my family, and we make it all the time. This salad is colorful and refreshing like summer itself, and the dressing is super delicious! I […]
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I love cucumbers. They are wonderful, tasty vegetables that work so well in salads, usually doing a great job playing a "supporting" role. Well, I happened to have lots of cucumbers in my fridge that were going a little soft, so I needed to come up with a recipe where cucumber would be one of […]
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I am very excited to see the first fresh mangoes of the season - so, naturally, I made some fresh pineapple mango salsa - one of my favorite ways to eat mangoes! Pineapple mango salsa is not just a salsa, it's a salad, a side dish, an appetizer. While it's great as-is, as a light […]
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The flavors of mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onions, garlic, and Parmesan cheese mingle really well in this vegetarian dish. It's quite versatile: you can eat it as-is, especially if you're craving some good-tasting, creamy vegetables. You can serve it alongside some pasta, ravioli or ready made tortellini. It is also great with grilled steak, pork, or […]
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Caramelized onions can be such a nice side kick to so many dishes: from pasta to grilled meats and hamburgers; as a topping over pizzas or a condiment in salads. I use caramelized onions a lot in my cooking, even though so far I have published only 2 recipes on this site involving caramelized onions: […]
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One of the best and most delicious pasta sauce recipes is a simple marinara sauce, which can be served over a large variety of pasta (fettuccine, linguine, short and long pasta, etc.). Perhaps, most often it is served over spaghetti as a meatless spaghetti sauce or spaghetti marinara. So, what is a marinara sauce? Marinara […]
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Light, refreshing, crunchy and easy-to-make salad (or dinner), anyone? When I first found this cold Asian noodle salad recipe (with homemade peanut sauce salad dressing, of all things!), it was love at first sight. After I've finally made it and have been eating it for 3 days in a row now, I am head over […]
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If you're looking for a delicious and easy-to-make pasta recipe to add to your weekly/monthly recipe rotation, try this sun-dried tomato and mushroom pasta in a garlic and basil creamy sauce. The combination of flavors in this dish is SO GOOD, it's a pure comfort food that you will be tempted to eat right out […]
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Arugula salad with walnuts, golden raisins, and Gorgonzola cheese I love baby arugula leaves - they are so good and flavorful in fresh salads! I also love spinach. Spinach and arugula definitely top the list of my favorite salad greens! They are easily interchangeable in recipes: in this salad, you can easily substitute spinach leaves […]
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I'd like to introduce you to my favorite salsa made with black beans, corn, chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, pineapple, cilantro, and lime juice. Those are very simple ingredients yet, when combined in this healthy dish, they create a burst of freshness, color, and flavor! This dish is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, low in fat and low […]
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Look at those beautiful oyster mushrooms on the photo above! I just love all types of mushrooms and use them in a lot of my recipes. I've made mushroom soups, mushroom pasta, mushroom pizza, mushroom ravioli, and many other dishes that have not yet made it to my site. But what I especially like about […]
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You may have noticed I've been posting lots of pumpkin recipes lately, from breads, pancakes, and muffins to chilies and curries. And I am not done yet! :) No pumpkin menu is complete without this amazingly delicious and easy pumpkin soup. I am very particular about pumpkin soups: I like them savory and so that […]
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I am so excited to add this vegetarian pumpkin curry full of Thai flavors to my regular rotation! Simple, flavorful, healthy, easy to make - this curry is a wonderful weeknight meal that I can quickly and easily make right after I come home from work. I can't even begin to describe how good this […]
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This is a really-really yummy chili recipe! I am so happy to share this because it is such a winner and so different from a regular chili! I think I am surprised myself at how well this dish has turned out. I knew I liked pumpkin, and I knew I liked chili, so combining these […]
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Butternut squash is an amazing vegetable that can be used in so many ways: from soups and appetizers to main courses and desserts. Often, the recipe requires to use it in a pureed form, especially when we're talking about soups and desserts, so here is a quick tutorial on how to make butternut squash puree. […]
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I love to make quick pasta packed with veggies and coated with lightened up creamy cheese sauce. I often use spinach and mushroom combination for veggies, and this time I wanted to try a different green vegetable that tends to undeservingly get little attention from me: green bell peppers. I've also decided to use large […]
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When I first saw the recipe for healthy fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower sauce by Pinch of Yum on Foodgawker, I immediately fell in love with the idea of making a perfectly healthy alternative to my favorite alfredo sauce. Plus, seeing this sauce immediately brought back the memories of a few years back, during Atkins diet […]
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A good basic Alfredo sauce has long been a staple in my kitchen. Not only is it delicious, creamy and cheesy, the sauce is simple to prepare, and it uses the ingredients that can be easily found in any pantry. This ridiculously easy Fettuccine Alfredo dish can be served plain as-is, or alongside some add-ins, […]
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For the last several weeks, these spicy Asian noodles and mushrooms became my staple dish on Monday nights (or any other days that are similar to my hectic Mondays). It's very easy to prepare; takes at most 40 minutes from start to finish, and it's very tasty. The dish is versatile - you can eat […]
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Pumpkin ravioli was the first recipe idea that came to my mind after I found an unopened can of organic pumpkin sitting in my pantry, leftover, forgotten and unused from this past Thanksgiving / Christmas season. I've already posted two ravioli recipes on this site, and both of them involved cheese and greens. I thought […]
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My ravioli mold proved once again that 26 bucks I spent on it was not a waste of money. After I posted my first recipe for ravioli in a red, tomato-based sauce, I got obsessed with the thought of making the ravioli in a different type of sauce, this time - white, creamy, and cheese-based. […]
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I've been craving for a simple vegetarian dinner that I could just whip up in the matter of 30 minutes, and so this very easy chickpea vegetable curry recipe with quinoa was born. Let not the simplicity of this dish fool you, though: it is still a very filling veggie dish, and it rightfully deserves […]
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I've always looked at those large pasta shells (manicotti) on store shelves with great longing, vividly imagining that stuffing any kind of cheese or vegetables into that large tube-like shape would undeniably result in something very delicious, pretty-looking and very Italian. Besides, my husband had a very nice Italian wine (you can see it in […]
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Creamy mushroom pasta sauce sounded really good on my first night at home, after I have traveled for business through 3 different states last week and have gone out to restaurants for dinner almost every single night for the last 10 days. Homemade pasta dishes are something I always crave after lots of traveling and […]
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I didn't want to make another sweet butternut squash (or pumpkin) soup, so I was in a search of a recipe where I could combine butternut squash with a second major ingredient that would neutralize the sweetness of butternut squash, without suppressing its flavor, something similar to what I did with carrot soup by adding […]
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As I am looking to incorporate pomegranate seeds into various dishes I found this recipe for balsamic-braised, caramelized shallots with pomegranate that can serve as a wonderful side dish to fish and many meats, such as steak, prime rib, pork loin. The original recipe calls for cipolline onions or small boiling onions. I used shallots, […]
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In between the Christmas cookie recipes, I have to fit in this cream of Shiitake mushroom soup I made last week from scratch without using any heavy cream, and using only 1.5 cups of half-and-half. And, by the way, you can use any type of wild mushrooms in place of Shiitake. I've made this soup […]
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I love pomegranate seeds and eat them pretty much as is, as a mid-day snack, but I also started looking for good recipes that call for actual pomegranate seeds. I just found and tested this one from Epicurious.com, and it is a keeper! Everybody who tried this salad so far has been in awe. And […]
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I made this carrot and lentil soup first time 2 years ago for Christmas, and it was an immediate hit with the family. Even those family members who did not like the idea of a "carrot soup" fell in love with it, finished their bowls and asked for seconds. The special thing about this recipe […]
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I haven't posted a single Thanksgiving-related recipe this season, and what am I posting the night before the Thanksgiving Day? Not a recipe for stuffing, pie, pumpkin soup or potato gratin. No. I am posting a mere salad recipe. A Thanksgiving salad recipe. Who eats salads on Thanksgiving, you might ask? Truth be told, I've […]
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I am always looking for interesting recipes that include beets. In particular, I wanted the recipe with beets AND pasta, the recipe that accentuates the richness of beets (both in flavor and their bright appearance) and that I could serve as a main course. This dish combines pureed beets with brown butter and goat cheese, […]
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On weekends, for breakfast I often crave for a warm savory tart, filled with eggs, vegetables, and cheese. I love the taste of the flaky, crumbly, a little salty tart crust that melts in your mouth. So, I made mini baked egg cups with spinach and Gouda cheese this past weekend - smaller versions of […]
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I decided to participate in Weekend Cook and Tell Event at SeriousEats.com and my photo was featured in their Round Up again, 2nd week in a row!!! For this weekend, the event was about making anything with puff pastry. I love puff pastry, and for some time have been on a serious puff pastry kick, […]
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I was originally planning to post a light-hearted and easy recipe about how to make a yummy plum drink, but Photograzing Community at SeriousEats.com was hosting an event this weekend, and I promised to post a recipe there. So I changed my mind and instead of making a simple plum drink, I took an endeavor […]
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This egg tart makes an amazing Sunday morning breakfast and is easy to make, if you prepared the tart shell in advance (a day before). It also makes a great presentation. The tart shell is super crumbly and melts in your mouth. This is one of my most favorite breakfasts. I highly recommend you to […]
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This is a truly incredible salad combining quite a variety of flavors on one plate: beets, oranges, pecans, Gorgonzola cheese, arugula. Give it a try! It's not at all dominated by beets: all ingredients are well-balanced. I like to put quite a lot of beets in there, but you can get away with as few […]
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My mom used to make pumpkin or butternut squash turnovers when I was a child, and I always loved their sweet peppery taste. It's been more than 10 years since I ate these last time, so I finally decided to make them again, using puff pastry. Butternut Squash Turnovers Recipe Prep time: 60 min Bake […]
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To-date, I have not met anyone who loves beets more than I do. There are many reasons why, but that's a subject for a separate blog post. Let's just say not only do I their earthy taste, I like the effect the have on the colon function. Have constipation problems? Try some beets! Looking for […]
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Small amounts of beets go great with green salads. In fact, seems like almost all fine dining restaurants these days have a green salad with beets on the menu. This salad combines different flavors which play off one another: tart and sweet, earthy and peppery, fresh and cooked. Spinach and beet salad with goat cheese, […]
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